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J. A. ENDS.

LEATHER SPLITTING MACHINE. No. 277:413. Patented May 8,1883.

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N. PETER$ Mumm. Walhingtun. o. c.

NITED STATES JOHN A. ENOS, OF PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO RUFUSH. BROW'N AND FRANK E. FARNHAM, OF SAME PLACE.

LEATHER-SPLITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,413, dated May 8,1883,

Application filed February 6, 1883. v (No model.)

To an whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN A. ENos, of Peabody,county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inLeather- S'plittin g Machines, of which the following descriptio'minconnection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing, like parts.

My invention, relating to leather-splitting machines, is embodied in amachine of that class in which the leather to be split is drawn againstthe edge of the splitting-knife by its friction with a power-actuateddrawing-roller.

As generally practiced in'the factories of New England, whereleather-splitting is carried on largely the leather is held pressedagainst and wrapped around the drawing-roller by the hands of theoperator, who is in great danger of being caught and having his armsbroken, such accidents being of very frequent occurrence.

Machines have also been made inwhich the leather has been drawn or fedagainst the edge of the knife or cutter by a pair of cylindrical rollswhich act upon the opposite surfaces of the leather, pinching it betweenthem; but when a stationary knife or cutter is employed it has beenfound impracticable to use such a pair of feeding-rollers, as theirholding-power is not sufficient to draw the leather uniformly againstthe edge of the Cutter. 1 have discovered that by flutin g or corrugating the surfaces of the drawing or feeding rollers, and preferably alsogearing them together, so that the projections or convex portions of oneroller will fall within the recesses or concave portions of the otherroller, it is possible to obtain sufficient holding-power upon theleather to draw it properly against the edge of the knife and split theleather.

My invention consists, essentially, in the combination, with the usualsplitting-knife and parts co-operatin g therewith to present the leatherproperly to its edge, of a fluted or corrugated drawing-roller and acorrugated or fluted auxiliary or gripping roller, and mechanism bywhich the operation can force the said .rollers against the leatherbetween .them.

In the present embodiment of my invention the gripping-roller is mountedin bearings upon pivoted arms which are acted upon by anactuating-treadle to draw the said grippingroller toward thedrawing-roller,- and the said gripping-roller is drawn back or retractedby its own weight or other suitable retractor, so that the operator bymerely raising his foot can at once relieve the pressure on the leather,which will cease to be drawn.

Figure lis a'front elevation of a leathersplitting machine embodyingthis invention; Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof; and Fig. 3, a verticalsection on line a 00, Fig. l.

The frame-work a, knife 12, and mechanism for presenting the leather tobe split to the knife-edge may all be of any usual construction, theseparts not constituting the present invention. The leather presented tothe knife at a short distance from the end of the piece or hide has itsend carried over the corrugated or fluted drawing-roller e, mounted on ashaft, f, shown as actuated by a gear,g, meshing with a pinion, h,'onashaft, i, having the usual fast and loose pulleys for the driving-belt.Thus by w-rappin g the leather around the said roller e, or pressing itagainst the surface thereof, the

said leather will be drawn against the edge of the knife and split bythe power by which the roller is rotated, although it is necessary, in

addition to the said power, to provide means for holding the leatherupon the surface of the drawing-roller. This is accomplished inaccordance with the present invention by the auxiliary or grippingrolleron, having its bearin gs in carrying-arms a, pivoted upon the shaft 0,so that the said roller can be swung or 0s cilla-ted upon the said armstoward'and from the roller 6. The arms a have extensions a, formingtherewith a bent actuating-lever for moving the roller m toward theroller 0, the said extensions or arms a being provided withcounterbalance-weights w forpartl y balancing the weight of the rollerm. The said arms a are connected bylinks or rods 1) with theactuating-treadle r, so that the operator, by depressing the saidtreadle, forces the roller m toward the roller 6 to grip the leatherbetween them. The roller m is corrugated or fluted to v correspond withthe roller 6, as shown in Fig.

3, and the roller 0 is provided at one end with a gear, 3, meshing withan intermediate, 1, that meshes with a pinion, t, fixed upon the shaft0, which has at its other end a'pinion, a, meshin g with a gear, a,connected with the roller m. The gears s and u are of the same size andthe pinions t t u are of uniform size, so that the rollers m and erotate in unison in opposite directions and the projections of the oneroller fall into the recesses of the other. The two rollers thusco-operate to grip and draw the leather, which passes down between therollers instead of being wrapped around one roller, as in the machinesheretofore employed. By the employment, in connection with a fluteddrawing-roller actuated by power in the usual manner, of a correspondingfluted auxiliary rolleror, in other words, a co-operating pair offiuting, gripping, and drawing rollerst-he danger to the operator isremoved, and the operation and capacity of the machine for splitting theleather are improved and increased.

In the old machines employing but a single roller, the leather, whenwrapped around it,

frequently forms hunches, causing inequality in the tension of theleather, and consequent inequality in the thickness of the splitmaterial,

The invention is not limited to the particular mechanism herein shownfor actuating the auxiliary roller in its movement toward and from theusual drawing-roller or one mounted in fixed bearings, as it is obviousthat the said mechanism can be greatly varied.

I clairn 1. In a leather-splitting machine, the combio nation, with theknife, of the drawing-roller and an auxiliary gripping-roller, bothfluted as described, and means to force the grippingroller toward thedrawing-roller to grip and draw the leather, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the knife, of the fluted drawing and grippingrollers provided with gearing for rotating them in unison, and mechanismto move one of the said rollers toward and from the other, substantiallyas de scribed.

3. The knife and drawing-roller,combined with the auxiliarygripping-roller, its carryingarms it, their extensions or arms a, andthe actuating-treadle connected therewith, substantially as described. a

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two sulgscribing witnesses.

Jouri AUGUSTUS ENDS.

Witnesses:

J os. P. LIVERMORE, W. H. SrGsroN.

